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The differences between directors of client development and account directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a director of client development and an account director. Additionally, an account director has an average salary of $114,728, which is higher than the $87,570 average annual salary of a director of client development.
The top three skills for a director of client development include client facing, digital marketing and client relationships. The most important skills for an account director are account management, project management, and work ethic.
| Director Of Client Development | Account Director | |
| Yearly salary | $87,570 | $114,728 |
| Hourly rate | $42.10 | $55.16 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 124,777 | 132,260 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A director of client development is a management executive who is responsible for managing business development managers to provide customer service to clients. This director is required to identify and secure business opportunities to support new revenue growth for the organization. The director must develop sales strategies for new account prospects and secure profitable new business by managing marketing activities, performing competitive analysis, and conducting client meetings. This director must also meet with the organization's chief operations officer to review their sales efforts and build territory business plans.
An account director is responsible for managing client accounts, monitoring budgets, and sales forecasting. Their goal is to maintain stable account management strategies, meet clients' demands, develop healthy professional partnerships that would generate revenues, increase profitability, and achieve the organization's long-term goals objectives. Account directors supervise the account management staff, ensuring the project's successful completion with the highest efficiency and accuracy. An account director also plans training programs to maximize their performance and productivity, especially when dealing with deadlines and clients' requests.
Directors of client development and account directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of Client Development | Account Director | |
| Average salary | $87,570 | $114,728 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $125,000 | Between $82,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Shearman & Sterling | BuzzFeed |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between a director of client development and an account director in terms of educational background:
| Director Of Client Development | Account Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between directors of client development' and account directors' demographics:
| Director Of Client Development | Account Director | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.5% Female, 39.5% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |